British Dyestuffs Corporation

Former British chemical company

British Dyestuffs Corporation LtdIndustry| Chemicals

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Founded| 1919; 106 years ago (1919)
Defunct| 1926; 99 years ago (1926)
Fate| merged into Imperial Chemical Industries
Headquarters| Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom
Products| dyes

British Dyestuffs Corporation Ltd (BDC) was a British company formed in 1919 from the merger of British Dyes Ltd with Levinstein Ltd.[1] The British Government was the company's largest shareholder, and had two directors on the board.

## Background

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By 1913, the Germans had provided 80% of the dyes used in Britain. Even the 20% that was produced in the US was mainly reliant on German intermediates. Stocks of dyes and intermediates were exhausted when World War I broke out in 1914, putting the textile industry in jeopardy. This situation was criticised in particular by Ivan Levinstein.[2][3]

In July 1915, British Dyes, Ltd., was created and bought Read Holliday & Sons of Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. In 1919, Levinsteins merged with British Dyes, which became the country's largest dye maker and was renamed the British Dyestuffs Corporation Ltd.[2] Sir Joseph Turner and Dr. Herbert Levinstein became the joint managing directors of BDC.[2] The new company controlled 75% of the entire dye production in Britain, its capitalization was £10 million.[3]

BDC supplied a comprehensive range of dyes within a competitive market. Its most notable foreign competitors were Allied Dye & Chemical, Du Pont, and IG Farben. In 1920, BDC produced 16,000 tons, however the dyes range was smaller than before the World War I (500 compared with 2,000).[4]

It became one of the four British chemical companies which merged in 1926 with Brunner Mond, Nobel Explosives, and United Alkali Company to form Imperial Chemical Industries.[5] That year, BDC developed and patented a process for the prevention of mildew in textile fabrics by the use of halogenated phenols.[4] The decision to become part of it was made in the face of the threat posed after the establishment of IG Farben, which threatened to dominate the European market.[2]

The company had manufacturing sites at Dalton, Huddersfield, Blackley, Manchester, and Ardeer, North Ayrshire.

## See also

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* Allied Corporation
* IG Farben
* United Alkali Company
* Clayton Aniline Company

## References

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1. ^ Colorants History[usurped]
2. ^ a b c d "British Dyes Ltd./British Dyestuffs Corporation Ltd. - ICI Dyestuffs Division and predecessor companies archive - Archives Hub". archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
3. ^ a b "British Dyestuffs Corporation and ICI". www.colorantshistory.org. Archived from the original on 4 July 2007. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
4. ^ a b "British Dyestuffs Corporation". www.gracesguide.co.uk. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
5. ^ "British Dyestuffs Corporation Limited | Science Museum Group Collection". collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk. Retrieved 14 June 2021.

## External links

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* Grace's Guide

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF

National|

* United States